1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to concrete structures and methods for making walls from concrete structures.
2. The Related Art
There are many different ways to fabricate wall structures, using such items as bricks, concrete blocks, or wooden frame construction.
For example, cement blocks with hollow passages are often used to build walls. For many commercial applications, once the blocks are built up to a certain height, such as four feet, concrete is poured into the hollow passages in the blocks to strengthen the Another four foot section is built on top of the first section, and so forth till the wall is completed. Reinforcing steel bars are usually placed within the open passages to reinforce the structure. Depending on the strength requirements for the wall, the poured concrete and steel rod reinforcement may not be needed. For example, the strength requirements for building a private house are generally less than those for commercial structures.
Constructing a wall from cement blocks as described above has several disadvantages. The process is time consuming because the many blocks used are each placed in proper alignment with those around
In addition, it may be difficult to place wiring, plumbing, or insulation within the wall itself due to the structure of the blocks, which does not allow for easy access between the inner wall surface and the outer wall surface.
Furthermore, the concrete region in a block wall may not be continuous, because it may be limited to the hollow passages within each block and the concrete regions in each passage may not contact the other concrete regions. The strengthening effect of the concrete is not as great as if one continuous concrete region existed within the wall.
A typical non-commercial structure wall may include a wooden frame, together with an inner wall surface of drywall board and an outer wall surface such as stucco. To build this type of wall, wooden studs such as 2".times.4".times.8' studs are placed every 16" or so along the desired wall area. Then, to construct the outer wall surface, paper or wire lath is tacked to the wooden studs and an outer wall surface material such as stucco is placed onto the paper or wire mesh. Drywall sheets attached to the inside portion of the wooden beams form the inner wall surface.
This type of wooden beam wall has the advantage of allowing for relatively easy access to the region between the inner and outer wall surfaces for wiring, plumbing and insulation purposes. This type of wall construction has disadvantages. One major drawback is the time and labor necessary for fabrication of the wall. Each wooden beam must be nailed into place, then the paper or wire mesh tacked on, the outer surface stucco applied, and the inner surface drywall attached to the beams. In addition, such a wall is not particularly strong, and cannot easily be reinforced with poured concrete and reinforcing rods.
It is desirable to build walls requiring less labor than needed to build the walls described above. In addition, it is desirable Go construct a wall which can be strengthened with concrete, such that the concrete can be one continuous phase within the wall if desired. It is desirable to construct a wall in which both vertical and horizontal reinforcing bars can be easily placed within the structure.
Furthermore, it is desirable to construct a high strength wall which allows easy access to the region between the inner and outer wall surfaces for easy placement of wiring, plumbing, and insulation within the walls.